Crafts Syllabus

Teacher: Megan LeSage

Frederick High School
lesage_megan@svvsd.org
https://svvsd.webex.com/meet/lesage_megan
303-833-3533 extension 41076

***This syllabus has been posted in Schoology for students, parents, and guardians to review. It is also
available for public view at http://fhsartlesage.weebly.com

***Please contact me with any questions or concerns you may have; email is the most effective way to
contact me, and from there we can schedule an appointment to Webex or to have a phone conversation if
necessary.

Introduction:
This course is designed to meet the needs of students working at any skill level. The first part of the course
involves learning and experimenting with creative strategies, artistic practices, media, and techniques. The
second part of the course is student-directed; students will be making their own artistic decisions in their
own voice and style while engaging in artistic processes of their choosing. A variety of structures are in
place and guidance is always available for students during this part of the course.

Although this course focuses on alternatives to more traditional Art forms, students are welcome to work
in any readily available medium or format. I believe that Art is for Everyone, not just the “talented” few.
My goal is for students to find something they enjoy in the art-making process and pursue it.

Supplies:
*Pencils: bring to class every day- #2 Ticonderoga HB Soft pencils are ideal
*iPads and Headphones: bring to class every day for research, creating digital Art, and for listening to
personal music. Please use responsibly according to FHS policies.

For the most part, all supplies will be provided. Students wanting to work with materials above and
beyond what is typically found in the Art Room are welcome to bring in those materials for their own
personal use.

Homework:
I don’t generally assign homework; however, all assignments will be available in Schoology and can be
completed at any time during the semester for full credit.

Food and Drink:

As a general rule, there will be no food or drink permitted in the Art room for student safety and for the
safety of artwork; however, spill-proof bottles of water are acceptable.
 Grading: Learning Activities (30%) / Assessments (70%)

A+ = 98-100% B+ = 88-89.9% C+ = 78-79.9% D+ = 68-69.9% F = 0-59.9%

A = 93-97.9% B = 83-87.9% C = 73-77.9% D = 63-67.9%
A- = 90-92.9% B- = 80-82.9% C- = 70-72.9% D- = 60-62.9%

***Although there will be “due dates” listed in Infinite Campus and Schoology to help students stay on
track, all assessments will be accepted for full credit at any time during the semester.
This includes assignments marked as “Missing.”***

*Missing assignments will be calculated as 50% until completed to align with equitable grading practices.

I use what is called “Engagement Grading” because I depend on students’ willingness to try new media and
techniques in order to have evidence for assessment. Engagement Grading uses criteria for proficiency as
opposed to mastery. It is unreasonable to expect students to achieve “mastery” of any artistic discipline
over the course of a single semester; most artists work their entire lives and still wouldn’t consider
themselves “masters” of their practice because there is always more to learn and more to refine.

I encourage students to chase the learning instead of chasing a specific grade, because students wishing to
receive a higher grade are less likely to take risks. Experimentation can lead to great results, but it can also
lead to failure. We learn so much when we fail. In the minds of many students, experimentation is not
worth the risk. By using Engagement Grading, students aren’t punished academically for trying something
that doesn’t work out perfectly. Instead, they are given credit for gaining experience with a variety of
artistic processes.

As many of the assessments for this class focus on the process of making Art rather than the end product,
they will often be completed in a single class period. If students have excused absences during these kinds
of assessments, they can be exempted from up to 5 assessments total, meaning that these assessments
wouldn’t affect their final grade. Any additional absences during assessments will require that students
make up assessments before the end of the semester; these will be marked as “Missing” in Infinite
Campus until the student makes up the assessment.
 Student-Directed Work Time (2nd Part of Crafts Class)

Student Choice Projects:

After completing techniques and skills practice, students will be expected to make progress on self-driven
Student Choice Projects at their own pace. Consequently, the number of final projects will vary from
student to student. Not every artwork will be a showcase-worthy piece: artists often try new methods and
materials, and sometimes they create for the sake of creating; these kinds of processes don’t always
translate into finished products.

Students can also earn credit for designing a project, even if they don’t end up creating it. While the
assignment “Brainstorm 1” is required, the remaining Brainstorming opportunities are optional.

It is an expectation that students are consistently engaging in the Art-making process. I am looking for
any observable artistic actions like researching, experimenting, collaborating, discussing, making, and
revising. If a student consistently fails to engage in these practices, Student-Choice-Projects may be
marked as “Missing” in Infinite Campus until students demonstrate progress. These will be updated on a
weekly basis.

Students should always check with me during the brainstorming process if they are uncertain about
whether their work is school appropriate. I rarely censor student work, but as a rule of thumb students
are encouraged to avoid imagery that is violent, drug-related, pornographic, or gang-related.

Students have the right to artistically express their opinions, and that right stops when it makes others feel
unwelcome or unsafe. Each student has a responsibility to share ideas and images that align with FHS
school policies.
 Assessments for Crafts may include the following,
and are subject to change at teacher discretion:

Purpose Headlines 100 points

Purpose Page 100 points
DIY Report Card Set-Up 100 points
Identity Exploration: Interests and Motivations 100 points
Favorites Page 100 points
Source of Inspiration 100 points
Divergent Thinking List 100 points
Art in the Everyday: Design Your Own Game 100 points
Emulation Activity 100 points
Synectics Exploration 100 points
Grit Exploration: Online Tutorial 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 1: Visual Chess/Exquisite Corpse 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 2: Altered Tracing 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 3: Radial Grid Drawing (Magic Mirror) 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 4: Image Transfers 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 5: Writing is Drawing (Typography) 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 6: Index Card Portraits 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 7: Finger Painting 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 8: Temporary Art 100 points
Sketchbook Skills 9: Recycled Art Day 1 and Day 2 200 points
Brainstorm 1 100 points
September/February Student Choice Projects Progress each week will be
worth 100 points
October/March Student Choice Projects Progress each week will be
worth 100 points
November/April Student Choice Projects Progress each week will be
worth 100 points
December/May Student Choice Projects Progress each week will be
worth 100 points
Brainstorm 2 (optional) 100 points
Brainstorm 3 (optional) 100 points
Brainstorm 4 (optional) 100 points
Final: DIY Report Card Reflection (100), Photographing Work (100), Final 300 points
Questions (100)
 Artistic Thinking Process

*Creative thinking is a learned set of skills that can be taught directly and intentionally by imparting a
range of strategies. The Artistic Thinking Process is the framework we use to teach these skills.
 Crafts will be driven by my teaching philosophy:

PICASSO

Purpose: Artists create for so many different reasons, and those reasons change frequently. I believe that
asking students to consider their own purposes for creating helps them to be more invested in their
creative processes.

Identity: I have found that students often struggle with identifying who they are and what interests them;
therefore, they have difficulty deciding what Art they want to create and why. Consequently, I will
incorporate some activities from basic psychology to help them develop a better understanding of their
own identities, motivations, and the role identity can play in making Art.

Creativity: Students will learn how to draw inspiration from a variety of sources. Students will also learn
the important difference between emulating and copying, and will learn new strategies for being creative.
Being creative is a skill; the more strategies students learn, the easier it will become for them to generate
their own ideas.

Artistic Practices: Grit is an essential quality for people working in creative fields of all kinds. Students will
learn the value of grit, including how to learn from their mistakes, and how to creatively maneuver around
or cope with obstacles they encounter. Failure is part of success, and in Art, the process is as valuable as
the end product.

Sketchbook Skills: “Sketchbooks” and iPads will be where students experiment with a variety of media
and techniques, and this is where they will show their brainstorming for projects. Sketchbooks can take
any form, including digital.

Organization: Once students have completed the activities to strengthen their artistic skills listed above,
they will be responsible for designing and managing their own projects. Students will be responsible for
setting their own artistic goals and working independently for the duration of the course. I will offer
structure and guidance, and will check in with students frequently throughout the semester.
 Crafts, Intermediate Crafts, and Visual Journaling Finals (LeSage)

The Finals for Crafts, Intermediate Crafts, and Visual Journaling with Ms. LeSage focus on providing
students with the opportunity to reflect on their learning, as well as to solidify their learning by
incorporating repeated retrieval practice, interleaving studies, elaborating on how their learning transfers
to novel contexts, and generating ideas instead of choosing from prescribed options (such as a multiple-
choice test). Students will work on their Final in sections during class for the last month of the semester to
make it more manageable and to reduce stress.

The Final for each of Ms. LeSage’s Art Classes will be worth 300 points:

*100 points: DIY Report Card Reflection

*Students will receive credit for reflecting on their experience, learning, and artistic growth during this
course. This can be done in Schoology or via verbal response at any time during the last month of the
semester.

*100 points: Photograph Work and Upload to Schoology (Monthly Student Choice Projects)
*It is an expectation that students photograph all of their work (even their unfinished projects) and upload
these photos to the monthly Student Choice Projects in Schoology. Documentation is an important artistic
habit to practice.

*100 points: Final Questions (these will be done as warm-ups)

*We will work on these in chunks during the last month of the semester.
*These will be graded based on completion rather than on “correctness” because there is rarely a single
“correct” answer.

Last Day of Class:

*Contribute to Cleaning the Studio

*As all students have taken advantage of our classroom/studio space this semester, it is an expectation
that all students help organize and clean the space in preparation for the following semester.

*Final Activities:
*After cleaning, we will have some fun playing an Art-related game as a class, and will reflect on our time
together this semester!